medicare did until just last few years. those surpluses are being spent in our discretionary account. so, really, these programs have little to do with our record deficits. it's discretionary spending up until recently that's driven the entirety of our debt. deficits, for the most part, come from discretionary spending. mr. president, so this statutory idea that i've proposed is tested and proven. the budget enforcement act of 1990, including very similar provisions that kept the growth of the federal spending low for 12 years. its provisions were extended in 1997 because people found that it was working. the congress felt that it was working. all in all these budget rules helped to achieve four balanced budgets for four consecutive years from 1998 to 2001. and the key component of that, i truly believe, was the statutory caps on spending that were passed during that opinion. many current serving senators were in this chamber in the 1990's, and recognized the necessity. in 1997, 28 currently serving democrats, for example,